Dec2010_Home Chat 19/11/2010 07:25 Page 1 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NOËL COWARD SOCIETY DECEMBER 2010 President: HRH The Duke of Kent Vice Presidents: Barry Day OBE • Stephen Fry Tammy Grimes • Penelope Keith CBE Lynn Fontanne, Noël Coward and Alfred Lunt receive Special Tony Awards at the 1970 ceremony in New York or those gathering to join the Society at its annual birthday celebrations for Noël ( December 11th & 12th F in the US and 18th in the UK ) a special treat is in store on both sides of the Atlantic. There are literally only a handful of tickets left for the UK Annual Luncheon at The Garrick Club where members are in for a special treat. Lunch will be taken in the splendid dining room with its walls covered in portraits of the greats of British theatre as the guest of actor Rodney Bewes best remembered, inevitably, as one of TVs ‘Likely Lads’ (for the benefit of US readers this was a series that was a huge success for all involved, not least the put-upon character, Bob Ferris, played by Bewes). In fact, as ever, his career has enjoyed far more breadth Siân Phillips than a single notable role. He has enjoyed a highly successful career in film, TV and theatre as an actor, writer and with his theatre company has recently taken his one-man version of Three Men in a Boat on tour around the UK. In his kind offer to host our event he promises a story about Noël. As he says, “ Everyone (in the profession) has at Rodney Bewes least one story about Noël. ” Following his successful appearance last year Robert Gardiner, a trustee of the Noël Coward Foundation and Chairman of Noël Coward Ltd., will read some verses by The Master . Our special guest Siân Phillips will lay flowers on Noël’s statue at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and join us at the luncheon. Following the meal she will entertain us in the large upstairs club room where accompanied on The Garrick’s famed Steinway she will sing songs taken from her cabaret show including some of her favourite Noël numbers. This promises to be a memorable event. If you have not yet managed to get a ticket please let Denys Robinson know as soon as possible by post at: 4 Parkside, Vanbrugh Fields, London, SE30 7QQ Tel: 02082 658 879 with refreshments. On Sunday, December 12th a celebrity email: [email protected] will be laying flowers on the Coward Statue at The Gershwin Theatre, after which there will be a luncheon and cabaret In the US preparations for the annual celebrations are entertainment at nearby Rosie O'Grady's ( rosieogradys.com ). complete, beginning with a screening at the Paley Center for Please contact Ken Starrett for further details on the US Media on Saturday, December 11th of The Noël Coward event at: [email protected] or at 212/877-4259. Story . This will be followed by a “meet and greet” reception We look forward to having you join us. The NCS 2011 CAMBRIDGE CONFERENCE - is progressing apace • More information next time in HOME CHAT Dec2010_Home Chat 19/11/2010 07:25 Page 2 HOME CHAT COMES OF AGE he Society is coming to the end of its tenth anniversary and looking forward to continuing its work to further knowledge and understanding of Noël and his T work. Since its inception the Society’s newsletter has become an essential component of what the society provides for its members. At times it has contained a considerable ‘Home Chat is one of the few amount of archive material that has journals I always read from helped people to understand the cover to cover.” significance of Coward in the history of 20th and 21st Century theatre and music. On other occasions our events have dominated the pages. In discussions with members it has become clear that many would like to see more information about our hero, his life and work and less space devoted to reports on past events that were attended by a relatively small number of members. In addition it has become clear that many members joined in order to find out more about their - and our - hero. In order to be able to do justice to these views the committee has been discussing the future role of Home Chat as part of a general debate on the way we operate and the new constitution and legal framework that is published with this edition. One of the results of these discussions is a decision to produce a quarterly magazine rather than a bi-monthly newsletter. It will still be entitled Home Chat and will contain articles on Noël, his works, his contemporaries and details of new publications, recordings, and events and productions as well as and editorial and information about future plans for the development of the society. The magazine will contain between 24 and 32 pages in full colour. News of forthcoming Society events will be sent to members in flyers or, if their publication dates coincide, as inserts in the magazine. This should ensure that information on planned events is sent to members in time for them to be able to book and attend them. We are well aware that for members who live far from London and New York there are few, if any, events that they can attend without enormous expense being incurred. We plan to start this new format in 2011. The new Home Chat Magazine will be published on the 1st February, 1st May, 1st August and the 1st November each year. In future editions we hope to feature a substantive new article on Noël, his works and/or a contemporary each quarter, written by a noted scholar or figure in the entertainment arts. Articles taken from our growing collection of archive materials will feature together with contemporary photographs and images. In the next edition, as part of our editorial feature, Stephen Duckham will be describing a regional approach to supporting the Society that will offer regional volunteers an opportunity to help the Society flourish with a minimum of time commitment. If any member has archive material they think should be featured then please send a scanned version to us (preferably scanned at 300dpi or sent by post as a greyscale photocopy). Your views and letters are always welcome so please let us know of anything of interest - we cannot guarantee to publish contributions but they are always welcome and will be seriously considered. Send all contributions to: The Editor, Home Chat, 29 Waldemar Avenue, Hellesdon, Norwich, NR6 6TB or by email: [email protected] Page 2 Dec2010_Home Chat 19/11/2010 07:26 Page 3 THE NOËL COWARD READER arry Day and Knopf produce Coward tomes that lie more firmly in the hand than on the Bcoffee table and demand to be dipped into like a box of Macintoshes’ Quality Street. In this new result of Barry Day’s diligent research and Knopf’s fine layout and presentation there are some new delights that, to continue the analogy, deserve more than a passing chew. The whole is a great book to give to friends - friends who know one has an interest in Coward but cannot really understand why. When I first became interested in The Master it was his songs, and in particular his lyrics, that appealed and it took years for me to realise that his plays were worth looking at and, after an even longer gap, his verses and finally, yes, even his paintings. All are well represented here, except perhaps the art, with only two inclusions - but this is no pictorial exercise, with full texts and extracts to delight as well as new pieces to enjoy. This is not Coward regurgitated but Coward presented with scholarly love from someone who sees his message of respect for this formidable talent as part of a lifetime mission. This book prefaces an essential set of guides - Barry Day’s earlier Complete Lyrics , revised Theatrical Companion to Coward , Coward on Film , and Coward’s own diaries and autobiographies. All part of a room with many views. Here are scenes from Coward’s plays, The Vortex , Blithe Spirit , Private Lives , and Design for Living . from his film screenplays, Brief Encounter and the previously unpublished script for In Which We Serve . from his only published novel, Pomp and Circumstance , as well as four of his best short stories. Included, as well, is his verse, in which Coward reveals the “secret heart ” behind the surface wit of his more formal work. And here, too, are the lyrics of his sublimely Coward songs: “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” . “The Stately Homes of England” . “I’ll See You Again” . “Someday I’ll Find You” . “Mad About the Boy” . “Sail Away” . “Mrs. Worthington” . and much more that embodies what Coward hoped would be his epitaph: “He was much loved, because he made people laugh and cry .” Eddie Cantor said Noël Coward was “ the British George M. Cohan . The most brilliant contribution England ever made to American show business .” Page 3 Dec2010_Home Chat 19/11/2010 07:26 Page 4 The Noël Coward Reader is a must-have book for those Those who read The Noël Coward Reader will agree: this is who luxuriated in the collection of his letters; for those who a very Noël Coward sort of book. adore his work and those who are just discovering the delights of his writing. Barry Day was born in England and received his MA Kenneth Tynan said of Coward, “Theatrically speaking, it from Balliol College, Oxford.